Watching some of it now (it's some 23 hours long over 10 episodes). Amazing detail as usual for Ken Burns. His documentaries always focus on the human aspect much more than the specific details of war. Time is nicely split between Vietnamese and American survivor experiences in their own words.pedros wrote:Just got the first 4 hours of this https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radi ... rehensible on the download, 18 hours of Vietnam war by Ken Burns should keep enough people occupied.
The unrelenting absurdity of the war is the obvious theme, with US chickenhawk politicians all (without exception) knowing the war was unwinnable from day one, fully realizing the senselessness and hopelessness, personally determined to end it, but consistently and continually afraid of looking "weak on communism" and then reluctantly upping the stakes in their desperation with yet more troops, more equipment, more bombing, deeper involvement, more secrecy and more lies. It is quite an indictment of the US hypocrisy and the splintered society which was breaking apart as a result of horrendous decision making by an "elite" and out-of-touch few. It leaves one feeling hollow.
Excellent use of period music too, which is another Ken Burns trademark.